31st March 1971
Actor Ewan McGregor is born
Ewan McGregor was born in Perth and came to public attention when he took the lead in Channel 4 drama Lipstick on Your Collar. Two film roles followed soon after, but it was arguably his portrayal of Mark Renton in 1996 film Trainspotting, adapted from the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, that made him an internationally recognised star. He won the BAFTA for Best Actor for his work in Trainspotting.
He played the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in three Star Wars prequels, and starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann musical, Moulin Rouge.
As well as acting, McGregor has fronted several documentaries, including three extended travelogues in which he crossed continents by motorbike with long-time friend Charley Boorman. The second of these, The Long Way Down, saw the duo travel from John O’Groats to Cape Town in South Africa over the course of three months.
Other events that occured in March
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